Taxi and Private Hire (TPH) Journey-Related Sexual Offence Figures 2018

Keith Prince: The recently released TPH Journey-related sexual offence figures for 2018, showed a worrying 81% increase. In response to this a TFL spokesperson stated that “the rise in allegations was a result of minicab firms being required since the end of 2017 to report all allegations to police”
How many of the total allegations were reported by Private Hire operators? Will the Mayor provide a breakdown of reports by operator?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) recognises that operators may receive notification of a potential crime as a complaint from a passenger using their services, a driver or another member of the public. It is important that all reports of a potential crime are passed to the police immediately to ensure that the police can investigate the incidents effectively and efficiently. TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service therefore issued guidance to all Private Hire operators on the importance of reporting criminal conduct to the police in an appropriate and timely way to ensure that the incident is investigated.
The full report about Taxi and Private Hire(TPH) journey-related sexual offence figures for 2018 includes a breakdown of the private hire operators that have had one or more of their drivers charged with a TPH journey related sexual offence and is published on TfL’s website https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/security-on-the-network/tph-related-sexual-offences
Due to the way in which the data for TPH journey-related sexual offences was recorded for 2018,it is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of all operators who have reported a suspected/alleged offence to the police, without analysing each individual complaint. TfL’s aggregate data shows that over half of the TPH journey-related sexual offences were first reported by an operator. However, TfL has amended its data processes to ensure that this additional information is recorded centrally for all offences going forward. The 2019 publication, planned for later this year, will include a breakdown of reports made by each operator.

Future victims of crime

Susan Hall: Do you stand by your comment that “I would rather invest in future Daves and Stormzys than future victims of crime”?

The Mayor: The clip of our exchange on this issue circulated by Assembly Member Hall was deliberately misleading – and Londoners deserve better.
What I actually said was: ‘it is possible to invest in policing and violence reduction and try to fill the massive hole left by her Government’s cuts over the last 10 years. I will not apologise for investing in culture, particularly where it can divert young people away from joining criminal gangs, away from a life of crime and toward having their potential fulfilled’.
So, I would rather not have to invest in future victims of crime by doing more now to ensure that they don’t become victims of crime in the first place.
Disproportionate rates of poverty, unemployment and school exclusions all contribute to crime. This is something we must address. That requires proactively tackling the barriers and inequalities that young people face and investing in alternatives to crime.
While my recent Budget provided an additional £25 million to build on the £45 million Young Londoners Fund. This programme is already helping more than 110,000 young Londoners access positive opportunities to help steer them away from crime.
Through the Violence Reduction Unit, I have invested £4.7million in a series of programmes to tackle school exclusions and support vulnerable young Londoners through education. The work of the VRU is built on the premise that positive, early interventions for those most at risk will lead to stronger more resilient communities and fewer victims.

Outstanding Mayoral Questions

Caroline Pidgeon: What commitment can you give to Londoners that outstanding questions asked by London Assembly members to you will actually be answered and made public by (1) the start of the pre-election period, and (2) by the 7 May 2019?

The Mayor: I take my responsibility to lead an open and transparent administration seriously.The London Assembly has as part of Mayor’s Question Time asked me over 16,000 written questions between May 2016 and March 2020. Every single question will be answered in line with the statutory requirements.

Under Budget Construction Projects

Tony Devenish: On 23rd January the FT highlighted a rail construction project, Warwick Parkway Station, that was costed at £12m by Network Rail but built by Chiltern Railways for £3m. Does TfL have any examples since 2016 where a project or upgrade has been completed for significantly under the allocated budget? If so, please list them.

The Mayor: Achieving value for money is at the core of everything Transport for London (TfL) does. It has a number of mechanisms in place to achieve best value in the delivery of its capital programme, including through robust cost estimating techniques in line with industry good practice, and by drawing on experience from previous schemes to help inform estimates for future similar works.
Effective project management processes have contributed to the delivery of a number of projects below their original authority, including upgrade works at Tottenham Court Road and Vauxhall stations. The Victoria station upgrade, which, before the coronavirus outbreak, was scheduled for completion this year, is forecast to be delivered below project authority. Some further details are below:
TfL produces a quarterly investment programme report that is presented to the Programmes and Investment Committee of the TfL Board, and which is publicly available. The report gives a progress update on the major projects and sub-programmes that seek authority each year.

Transport infrastructure projects

Shaun Bailey: Please provide a full list of all transport infrastructure projects in London (including new initiatives, planned improvements and renovation work) that have been delayed, rescheduled or cancelled since May 2016.

The Mayor: Prior to the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) annual investment programme totalled some £1.3bn on new capital investment and £0.6bn on capital renewals. As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, all constructions projects have been brought to a safe stop, which will impact some delivery schedules. The length of the current lockdown and the extent of the financial impact on TfL are not yet know; hence the impact on project delivery cannot yet be assessed.
As schemes within the investment programme are developed, it is not uncommon for their scope or timings to change as a greater understanding of the requirements, challenges and opportunities become known. This is a reflection of effective, ongoing project management.
Even before the coronavirus crisis, TfL faced a number of financial challenges, including adapting to the loss of a direct central government operating grant for day-to-day running costs. The delay announced by Crossrail Limited to the opening of the Elizabeth line and the subdued national economy, which has affected passenger demand on public transport nationally.
As detailed in TfL’s quarterly Investment Programme Report (IPR) and papers considered by TfL’s Programmes and Investment Committee (PIC), TfL has had no option but to make difficult decisions on affordability grounds to ensure that safety-critical and reliability schemes continue to be delivered and front-line services protected.
TfL updates its Business Plan every year to ensure it can respond to emerging financial circumstances. Schemes that have been subject to material revision through this process and in response to the pressures outlined above include:
Our business planning approach reflects the fact that project timetables can change – often due to complex procurements, responding to issues raised through consultation and other external factors including using over-programming. Schemes that have been materially impacted by external factors include Oxford Street pedestrianisation and some cycle superhighway schemes which did not obtain approval from boroughs and so could not proceed
Detail of the progress in the delivery and financial performance of projects are reported in TfL’s published Investment Programme Report and in Programme and Investment Committee papers.